Thursday, 5 December 2013

Wild' snow storms set to smother Sweden

'Wild' snow storms set to smother Sweden

The first snow storms of the season are set to trounce Sweden, with even southern Sweden expected to be covered in 20 centimetres of white by the weekend.

If you've not got the winter boots out of storage, now is the time. A snow storm bringing high-speed winds is set to smack Sweden from the west on Thursday.

"It will be properly windy and there could be quite a lot of snow, even in far reaches of Skåne," Therese Fougman, meteorologist at Swedish weather agencySMHI told the TT news agency, adding that northern Svealand could expect up to 20 centimetres of snow.

She said that the weather would mark the first snow storm of the season, and that the combination of wind and snow "will make things properly wild".

The trouble is expected to start begin when a low pressure system moves into Götaland and Svealand from the west some time on Thursday.

Roar Inge Hansen, a meteorolgist at Storm weather agency, told the Expressen newspaper that he was "scared that it will turn to chaos at once".

Meteorologists from TV4 suggested that southern Sweden may even be swamped by "up to 30 centimetres" of snow.

Due to the low temperatures, the snow is expected to settle on the ground throughout the weekend as the storm passes westward over Gotland and into the sea.

SMHI has not yet announced any weather warnings, but will do so on Wednesday at the earliest.